African Union

News about African Union, including commentary and archival articles published in The New York Times.

Chronology of Coverage

Jan. 31, 2015

African Union's peace and security council calls on Nigeria, Benin, Cameroon, Chad and Niger to prevent expansion of Boko Haram; stops short of authorizing cross-border operations. MORE

Dec. 26, 2014

Islamist members of Shabab attack African Union peacekeeping base in Mogadishu, Somalia, killing at least three soldiers and one civilian; five attackers are killed as well; assailants appeared to know in advance that security would be lighter due to Christmas celebrations, and some disguised themselves as Somali soldiers. MORE

Nov. 4, 2014

African Union gives Burkina Faso's military leaders two weeks to return power to civilian-led government or face severe sanctions. MORE

Apr. 3, 2014

Scores of European and African leaders and officials gather in Brussels for a major summit meeting overshadowed by bloodletting in the Central African Republic and lingering postcolonial resentments. MORE

Oct. 23, 2013

African Union submits formal request to United Nations Security Council to defer, for at least one year, trials of Kenyan Pres Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto in the International Criminal Court at The Hague. MORE

Oct. 13, 2013

Members of African Union urge International Criminal Court to postpone trial of Kenyan Pres Uhuru Kenyatta, saying no sitting head of state should be prosecuted by international tribunal; union has no official standing to effect change at court but stance could provide backing for heads of state who refuse to cooperate and might give Kenyatta political cover should he choose to skip his court date. MORE

Oct. 11, 2013

Op-Ed article by Anglican bishop and Nobel Peace Prize recipient Desmond Tutu calls on members of the African Union to resist calls to withdraw from the International Criminal Court; urges countries like Nigeria and South Africa to exercise leadership and shout down leaders who are effectively looking for a license to kill, maim and oppress their own people by skirting the court. MORE

Aug. 16, 2013

African Union and Somali government say they are working together to investigate allegations by Somali woman that she was held hostage and gang-raped by international peacekeepers; case has prompted local outrage and could strain ties between the public and foreign troops in the country. MORE

May. 10, 2013

United Nations says as many as 3,000 African Union peacekeepers have been killed while trying to push out militant group Shabab and bring stability to Somalia. MORE

Dec. 6, 2012

African Union appeals for United Nations to pay for military operation to combat Islamist extremists in northern Mali after UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon cautiously recommended that Security Council approve force without financing it. MORE

Oct. 4, 2012

Four Nigerian soldiers belonging to the United Nations-African Union peacekeeping mission in Darfur are killed and eight soldiers are wounded in an ambush by unidentified attackers. MORE

Jul. 17, 2012

African leaders for the first time elect a woman to lead the African Union Commission, selecting South Africa’s minister of home affairs, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma. MORE

Jul. 16, 2012

Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo agree to accept international help to take on rebels in eastern Congo, and the African Union says it is ready to send peacekeepers there; United Nations peacekeepers already operate in the region. MORE

Jun. 9, 2012

Malawi announces that it will not host African Union summit meeting scheduled for July 6 because the bloc insists on inviting Sudan’s President Omar Hassan al-Bashir, who faces international war crimes charges. MORE

Apr. 20, 2012

Fighting over the contested oil-rich region of Heglig, Sudan, which has spread to a number of areas along the border and beyond, triggers a war between Sudan and South Sudan, the country that was born out of a 2011 peace agreement; African Union condemns South Sudan’s seizure of Heglig as illegal, and the United Nations Security Council demands an immediate end to the attacks from both sides. MORE

Apr. 18, 2012

African Union suspends nation of Guinea-Bissau, increasing pressure on military chiefs there who took power by coup, and who have told regional mediators that they are ready to restore control to civilians. MORE

Mar. 24, 2012

African Union plans to launch new operation against the Lord’s Resistance Army, Ugandan rebel group led by Joseph Kony that has been terrorizing parts of central Africa for more than 20 years. MORE

Mar. 10, 2012

African Union says Ethiopia, which has deployed hundred of troops in Somalia to fight Islamist insurgents, will withdraw them by the end of April. MORE

Jan. 31, 2012

High-profile and bitterly fought race for African Union's top post ends inconclusively with neither the incumbent, Jean Ping of Gabon, nor his main challenger, South Africa’s home minister, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, securing enough votes to win. MORE

Jan. 21, 2012

Somalian government and African Union forces begin a heavy offensive against insurgent strongholds on outskirts of the capital Mogadishu, trying to drive Shabab militants out of the city. MORE

Jan. 6, 2012

African Union says that it has extended the mandate of its peacekeeping force in Somalia by an additional 12 months and is hoping to expand the mission’s size to nearly 18,000 troops to help in the fight against the Shabab rebels. MORE

Dec. 21, 2011

Long-awaited contingent of soldiers from Djibouti arrives in Mogadishu, Somalia, to join the African Union peacekeeping force there. MORE

Nov. 25, 2011

African Union peacekeepers in Somalia, at nearly 10,000 strong, have hardened into war-fighting machine since their timid arrival in 2007, and are making strides in country; analysts say African Union has done better job of pacifying capital Mogadishu and a hornet's nest of Islamist militants, clan warlords, factional armies and countless mercenaries than any other outside force; their surprising success has put African Union in driver's seat of international effort to wipe out Somalia's Shabab militants once and for all. MORE

Nov. 21, 2011

Hundreds of Ethiopian troops cross into Somalia with armored personnel carriers, heavy artillery and tanks, joining Kenyan forces and African Union peacekeepers in an intensifying international offensive against the Shabab militant group; many Somalis say they welcome the help of the Ethiopians, who have been their historic enemy, in getting the Islamic insurgents out. MORE

Nov. 18, 2011

African Union announces that it is considering an ambitious plan to stabilize Somalia that could involve thousands of Ethiopian troops opening up a new front against the Shabab militant group; African Union peacekeepers are already battling the Shabab in Mogadishu and Kenyan forces have been fighting the Shabab in southern Somalia. MORE

Oct. 31, 2011

Shabab posts a recorded suicide message online that appears to be the voice of Abdisalan Hussein Ali, 22-year-old Somalian-American who spent his formative years in Minneapolis before joining the rebels; he is said to have blown himself up in suicide bomb attack on African Union troops in Mogadishu, Somalia. MORE

Oct. 30, 2011

Shabab rebels in Somalia, armed with grenades, bazookas and suicide vests, attack an African Union peacekeeping base in Mogadishu, where government troops are also based. MORE

Oct. 22, 2011

African Union acknowledges that its peacekeeping force in Somalia has sustained heavy casualties in its battle against the Shabab, but the precise number of peacekeepers killed remains a mystery. MORE